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Space Shuttle
Flight Details 4
STS-34 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The second in the series of planetary probes was deployed during this flight. Galileo was launched on a circuitous trajectory that would include several fly-bys of Earth to slingshot the probe toward Jupiter. Once at Jupiter, Galileo would eject a probe that would penetrate the Jovian atmosphere, while the main spacecraft would enter into orbit to make long-term studies of the Jovian system. Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-33 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This was another Department of Defense mission to deploy a classified payload. It is generally believed that the satellite deployed from Discovery was an electronic intelligence satellite, possibly SigInt 2. Discovery landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-32 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The primary objectives of this mission were to launch the Syncom IV-5 communications satellite and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility, which was placed in orbit in 4/84. The Columbia crew easily found and rendezvoused with LDEF and used the remote arm to grab LDEF and place it in the shuttle payload bay. This flight set several shuttle records, including the longest flight, over 10 days, and the heaviest landing weight for the shuttle. Columbia landed at night at Edwards AFB.
STS-36 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This classified Department of Defense mission was launched at night and deployed a classified satellite thought to be an advanced imaging reconnaissance and electronic intelligence satellite. Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-31 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The highlight of this mission was the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. This did not go without problems, however. The Hubble's solar panels did not unfurl properly on the first few attempts, and McCandless and Sullivan were prepared to make a space walk to fix the problem. However, continued ground commands eventually worked the panels free and the Hubble was successfully deployed. Unfortunately, later tests of the telescope showed that errors during manufacture of the main mirror had seriously degraded the quality of observations possible with the Hubble. The 380 mile altitude needed for deployment of Hubble was a shuttle altitude record. Discovery landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-41 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The deployment of the Ulysses solar probe was the primary mission objective of this shuttle flight. Ulysses was a joint American-European satellite to study the polar regions of the sun. A solar polar trajectory was to be achieved by first flying toward Jupiter and using the planet's gravity to propel the spacecraft out of the plane of the ecliptic and back toward the sun. Discovery landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-38 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This Department of Defense mission deployed an imaging reconnaissance satellite to be used to monitor the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Sheid/Storm. Because of continued weather problems, Atlantis eventually landed at Kennedy Space Center. This was the first shuttle landing at Kennedy since the April 1985 mission during which Discovery blew a tire.
STS-35 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: Columbia was launched at night on an ambitious mission of astronomy experiments. The Astro 1 telescope package in the shuttle's payload bay included X-ray and Ultraviolet telescopes, which were operated on a 24-hour basis by the crew. There were some mechanical problems with the Astro pointing device. However, significant useful observations were made. The planned 10-day mission was shortened by 1 day because of forecast bad weather at Edwards AFB, where the shuttle landed.
STS-37 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The second of NASA's series of great observatories was deployed during this shuttle flight. As in the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope, however, the deployment was not completely without problems. The high gain antenna on the observatory was stuck, and astronauts Apt and Ross made a space walk to work the antenna free. The Gamma Ray Observatory was then successfully deployed. The following day, Apt and Ross made a planned space walk to test several mobility devices for possible use during space station construction. Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-39 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This Department of Defense mission was the first that was not completely classified. The main mission objective was to conduct experiments for the Strategic Defense Initiative program related to the tracking of missiles from space. Specifically, the CIRRIS was used to make observations of the Aurora Australialis in an attempt to differentiate such natural phonomena from missile plumes. The IBSS tracking device, mounted on the SPAS payload pallet, was deployed from the shuttle and used to track the shuttle during a series of experiments of the ability of remote devices to track missiles in space. Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center because of high winds at Edwards AFB.
STS-40 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This 9-day Spacelab mission was the first devoted exclusively to life science research. A variety of experiments were conducted to assess the effects of weightlessness on humans and other living creatures, including 30 laboratory mice and thousands of jellyfish, which were carried into orbit. Columbia landed at Edwards AFB.
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